An IIT graduate went on LinkedIn to alert people about a “new scam in the market”. He said a scammer pretending to be him attempted to cheat his colleague out of thousands of rupees by asking him to purchase gift cards worth ₹10,000 each. The post has initiated a debate on cybersecurity.
How the Scam Unfolded
Aaditya Aanand stated that his colleague Anupam got an email which appeared to be from Aanand. But on closer inspection, Anupam noticed something was not quite right with the email and hence decided to call Aanand over WhatsApp. The email that Anupam had read was, “Why haven’t you responded to my last email?”
They soon understood that it was a fraud and agreed to go along with it. “The impersonator told our team that I was going to surprise them with Apple Gift Cards worth ₹10,000 each as an incentive. He told Anupam to purchase 5-6 gift cards quickly using his personal email and share the code with them, assuring him that he would be reimbursed,” Aanand wrote.
The Psychology Behind the Scam
What Aanand found fascinating and frightening was that the “scammer built a sense of urgency while coming across as professional.” To caution others, he also posted screenshots of email exchange between Anupam and the scammer.
“Please don’t fall for these things. Share with people, make them more aware. Scammers are everywhere. Their target is everyone, especially in a digital world where data privacy is a myth and people’s emails and mobile numbers are all public,” the techie wrote and concluded his post.
Where to Report Cybercrime Incidents?
If you receive fraudulent messages, calls, or emails or have been a victim of cybercrime, you can report the incident at The National Cyber Crime Reporting portal.
It is a government initiative under which complainants or victims can report cybercrime incidents online. To complain, you will need an account on the portal, which you can create using a mobile phone number and email ID.
